Postal Carrier Told He Can No Longer Wear Santa Suit On The Job

For more than a decade, a postal carrier in Bellevue, WA, has spread Christmas cheer along his mail route by donning a Santa Claus costume over his uniform for a few days leading up to Dec. 25. But after someone complained to the USPS about his Kris Kringle getup, the Santa costume will have to remain in his closet this year.

“The government is shutting me down because it’s a non-postal regulation uniform,” the 4-year USPS employee tells the Bellevue Reporter.

The carrier says he got the notion of dressing up like Santa several years ago after someone mentioned the resemblance. Since then, he’s apparently become a bit of a local celebrity, someone that Bellevue residents could rely on to play Santa when Christmas rolled around.

He even goes the extra step of dying his blonde hair white and making sure he has enough time to grow out the beard to the proper length in time for the holidays.regularly as both Santa and mailman. The residents know him well, and are always excited when Santa knows their name, he said.

But shortly after this past Thanksgiving, his supervisor let him know that a complaint had been filed about the whole Santa thing.

“This was the first time; I don’t know what happened,” he tells the Reporter. “I don’t step on anyone’s toes. Being Santa isn’t religious to me; it’s secular. It’s about giving.”

A rep for the USPS confirmed to the paper that the complaint actually came from one of his fellow carriers, and not someone on his route.

Because this is exactly the kind of thing that the Postal Service, with a debt the size of a small island nation, really needs to focus on right now.

The very first line says he’s been wearing the suit on his mail route for a decade, so he couldn’t have been working at the USPS for only 4 years, and the source material states he’s been working for the USPS since 1971.

No, more likely it’s just some anti-religious “person” who hates everything related to Christmas. You know, those folks who sue schools because they start out each morning saying the Pledge of Allegiance, or those that file lawsuits over school graduations because they want to include a prayer in it.

What that Postmaster should have done was to grow a set of balls and told the complainer “tough shit”.

If it was a religious motivation at all, it’s just as likely, if not more likely, to be a Jew, Muslim, Hindu, or person from another religion that doesn’t want a US government employee dressed as a symbol of a Christian holiday.

My parents are Jehovah’s Witnesses, a Christian denomination. I’m Jewish. In my old job, me and my Muslim and Hindu friends from work would all go to Christkindlmarket at Daley Plaza in Chicago. Guess which group makes more noise about Santa when they see one?

“You know, those folks who sue schools because they start out each morning saying the Pledge of Allegiance, or those that file lawsuits over school graduations because they want to include a prayer in it.”

And that’s not anti-religious; that’s a desire to keep the church separate from our government, something that is explicitly in our constitution. All of these “complaints” or “law suits” are for public schools, not private. There’s a reason for this, and it’s called Separation of Church and State.

You can still pray privately. There are no laws against that.

ETA: And I clearly made my original comment about Santa having nothing to do with religion to the wrong person. D’oh! But my point still stands: Santa has absolutely nothing to do with religion. The fact that so-called christians are so ignorant about their own religion and think that a modern, consumerist icon is about religion, is quite amusing, though.

Your statement that ‘separation of church and state’ is in the Constitution is incorrect. A simple Wikipedia search is enough to show that. It’s from a letter written by Thomas Jefferson in reply to one from the Danbury Baptist Association in 1802. The original text reads: “… I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should ‘make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,’ thus building a wall of separation between Church & State.” He was replying to a worry of theirs regarding the dominance of another church in their area.

If you’re going to throw around a phrase like that, 1- use the whole quote, and 2- get your context right.

I don’t think it was a hard-line Christian. i think it was a government union employee representative or Shop Steward (aka Union Goon). The Union says this is your uniform so you look just like the other Union drones. If you try to personalize the uniform, trying to make yourself look like an individual, that is a violation of Union rules and must be punished.

And besides, it’s probably a violation of government union rules to do anything that gives the public a positive opinion about government union employees.

My mother, a long time pro-union anti-government commie who happened to work for the USPS for about 20 years, said that the United Postal Workers’ Union runs the USPS.
Not legally of course but by mere force of numbers. All offical decisions take in to account the reaction of thousands of angry workers possibly “going postal”.

I’d say “amen”, but that’s too ironic for a Wednesday, so I’ll just agree. While I’m indifferent than athiest, I also can enjoy the trappings of the season without getting caught up in the whole “Christ Died on Christmas” thing.

Nope. He wasn’t born anywhere near Christmas day. That day was chosen b/c it was so close to the winter solstice and to Yule. It was easier to convert the pagans that way so they didn’t have to lose their holiday habit.

This athiest considers the words taken right off her keyboard, personally. I consider Santa/Father Christmas a secular figure, and oddly enough that’s something on which I and a portion of the evangelical right wing agree.

Wouldn’t it be more likely to be someone with religious beliefs that preclude Christmas? There are many worldwide religions (not going to name any names) that don’t participate in Christmas, and it seems that people of any belief system (including Atheists, regardless of whether it can be considered a ‘belief’) can get their panties in a bunch over perceived religious favoritism. Heck, there are even those that subscribe to the traditional Christmas story that get perturbed by the guy in the red suit stealing the show.

Atheist here, who can’t wait for my kids to open their presents Christmas morning! I grew up a Methodist, but have NEVER combined Santa Claus and religion.

To me, Santa Claus is just 1 day out of the year I can do something for ALL of my children to enjoy and look forward to equally. My husband still shares some Christian beliefs, but we don’t raise our children to. We let them decide what they choose to believe in. Santa Claus is just a fat old jolly dude who gets a kick out of making kids happy :)

How did this ever start in this country? One person complains and everyone shuts down. Why is this? How come manager’s don’t tell the complainer to STFU and mind their own business? I would. I would never allow a complainer to tell me how to run my business.

Just how long do letter carriers spend working together? Honestly? Also, why does one complaint letter mean it has to be stopped? Tell the person who wrote the complaint letter their concern is noted and move on.

Until many people start bitching, I don’t see why someone’s tight assness means the guy can’t dress up as Santa and make people on his route smile (and the kids happy).

@Erimis77; I agree. I always wonder why cops don’t do this also. If I were a cop and ONE person complained about something that seem a nusiance or inconvenience, I’d tell them that “Hey, guess what, maybe they don’t like you either so STFU!”.

Unfortunately, I live nowhere near Bellevue WA. But perhaps someone who does can send a complaint to the USPS demanding that all letter carriers dress as Santa for the week or so preceeding Christmas? Using USPS logic, that would solve this problem now, wouldn’t it??

I had a postman at a previous job whom I became friends with. His name was Joe and he was such fun to talk to. The year I worked there I spent my birthday alone for the first time in my life, even my friends were out of town. On my birthday he brought me a mini cheesecake he purchased at the bodega down the street, because he didn’t want me to be without a cake on my birthday. It meant the world to me and still gives me the warm’n’fuzzies.

Joy, kindness, and whimsy should be rewarded, not punished. Especially when it enhances a person’s job rather than distracts from it.

>For more than a decade, a postal carrier in Bellevue, WA, has spread Christmas cheer along his mail route by donning a Santa Claus costume

Spread cheer for his Christian customers only. While there are certainly Christmas customs that are not based in Christianity, such as Santa, Christmas with all it’s secular trappings is seen as a Christian holiday by non-Christians.

How does seeing presents delivered by Santa make other kids unhappy? My kids have lived without presents from Santa all their lives. They see him on T.V. delivering presents, they see him in the malls at Christmastime. They don’t seem sad. I don’t get it.

I’m not Christian, and I would be honored to have a man dressed as Santa delivering my mail. (I’d also approve of my mail carrier dressing as Jesus, Mohammed, Moses, L Ron Hubbard, Joseph Smith or Zeus)

Jew checking in. Love Christmas lights, in fact we’re going to Brookfield Zoo on Friday to see the lights. While I don’t take my kids to sit on Santa’s lap, they have shook his hand when he walked by us in the mall. Some people say it’s because I’m jealous that we don’t have Christmas. WTF? It’s Christmas all around us, how in the hell can anyone not “have” Christmas right now, unless they lock themselves in a basement?

Santa is just fine with me, and my kids don’t care that they don’t get presents from him. And we’d be fine with him delivering our mail, like it really hurts us. Boo hoo.

Agreed. I am not Christian and I celebrate Christmas, but have zero issue with those who respect the religious aspect of it. None of my atheist friends do either. Neither do any of the Jewish families I know. I have one Jewish friend who gives me a Christmas gift and sends out cards to her Christian friends.

I think that this whole was on Christmas is made up by that small sect of hypocritical and hostile Christians who like to make non-Christians miserable and frame us all as horrible, unethical, evil people who live to rob them of their right to celebrate their religion freely, while at the same time refusing to let non-Christians live in peace without religion.

Hell, I’m curious as to how he got away with it for so long. Then again. the main post office across the street from me right now here in Chicago has wasted money on putting up unconstitutional Christmas decorations so I’m not that surprised.

How are Christmas decorations unconstitutional? I am not a Christian and put them up, as do many of the atheists on Consumerists, and as do all of my atheist friends. They are Christian if you choose to see them as such. A tree, garland, wreaths, and Christmas balls are not Christian symbols in any way. If it were a giant cross and manger scene, I could see your point (and it very well could be.) But, generic decor is not inherently Christian.

I feel horrible saying this, but it’s just as likely a very very conservative Christian complained (perhaps someone who’s powerful in the local community). Some people in certain Christian circles take great offense to Santa “taking over the celebration of Christ’s birth” and view him as a secular commercialized idol that’s “ruining” the holiday.

I can’t imagine why anyone else would be offended. Santa Clause is the non-religious symbol for Christmas in America. ( http://youtu.be/RbUVKXdu4lQ ) It gives non-Christians a way to participate in the holidays without having to pretend they care about Christ’s birth. He shouldn’t offend people from other religions. (Or at least I can’t imagine why he would offend people from other religions.)

(Yes, I am a Christian. And, no, I don’t care if people celebrate Christmas in the religious or secular sense. Just as long as everyone can have fun, enjoy their friend’s and family, and get/give gifts.)

That’s because Santa is an American consumerist icon. Santa has nothing to do with christianity. It’s just a cultural tradition of the US. Also, I have Jewish friends who celebrate the Jewish Holidays, AND Christmas day, with Santa. This world is far more complex then you’re making it out to be.

I rate this troll a 2.5/5. Your other comment was perhaps a 3/5, extra points for bringing in racism to a discussion that has nothing to do with race. You should observe more successful trolls and pick up some tips if you hope to continue in this hobby.

American Santa Clause is a non-religious figure. I’m not talking about the different (pagan) spirits or (Christian) saints he’s based off of, but the Santa Clause we’ve had for the last 50 years. The one on the Coca Cola bottles and in the TV shows. The guy who goes HO HO HO and comes down chimneys. THAT Santa is secular and certainly not Christian.

When I lived in Japan, they celebrated Christmas. Their total population of Christians is less than 1%, so it’s not like it’s a Christian holy day for them. They decorate trees, give their kids gifts, have romantic evenings with their special someone, and YES they have the AMERICAN Santa Clause and all that comes with it. To them, Christmas isn’t religious, it’s just a fun holiday they got from the West.

Thanks for the other comments. Nice to know people understand what I’m saying and I’m am not completely off my rocker. :)

They should have checked to see if this was actually a problem.
If the people on his route were happy to see him dressed as Santa then let him dress as Santa.
To react this way on a complaint from a fellow worker is stupid.
it should take more than one complaint to react.

Way to go Supervisor! I’m sure other complaints get properly processed, filed, with nothing at all done about them.
Way to make sure this one was taken care of immediately.
I hope your good service is rewarded when they start closing down Post Offices for lack business from paying customers.

It is a safety issue. Also, the USPS is in debt because of sabotage by Republicans who forced it to overfund its retiree benefits by billions of dollars. Without this the USPS would be doing just ifne.